Data Protection Information

The joint project B20 of the business associations BDI (Federation of German Industries), BDA (Confederation of German Employers’ Associations) and DIHK (Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry) as well as the IFG as the operator of this website take the protection of the personal data of users and interested individuals very seriously. We comply with the regulations of the German Telemedia Act, the Federal Data Protection Act, the General Data Protection Regulation and, in the future, the upcoming ePrivacy Regulation.

If you would like to get into touch with us by email, please note that the confidentiality of the transmitted information cannot be guaranteed. The contents of emails could be viewed by third parties. We therefore recommend that you send us confidential information exclusively via post.

This declaration provides an overview of how this protection is ensured and which type of data is collected for which purpose.

Data processing on this website

In server log files, our web server automatically stores the following information transmitted to us by your browser:

Browser type and browser version

Operating system in use

Referring URL

Host name of the accessing computer

Time of server request

IP address

This data is collected exclusively for the purpose of ensuring proper operation as well as for improving our offer, and is stored for a maximum of 7 days. This data does not allow us to draw any direct conclusions about you as a person. There is no aggregation of this data with other sources of data. The legal basis of the data processing is provided by Art. 6 Para. 1 lit. f) of the GDPR, which permits the processing of relevant data for the purpose of safeguarding legitimate interests. In this context, these interests comprise the provision of websites, the detection and elimination of malfunctions, as well as the detection and prevention of attacks and misuse (prevention and prosecution of computer-related crime).

Respect for do-not track and information on opt-out

We respect the activation of the Do Not Track feature in your browser. If Do Not Track is activated in the browser, third-party tracking is deactivated and no web font from external resources is integrated.

Please be advised that general deactivation of cookies may cause malfunctions in the use of our website and, in addition, does not reliably prevent transmission of data to Google Analytics. We therefore recommend using the “Do Not Track” option (DNT) of your Internet browser. Depending on the browser, this is either a button in the program settings or a module (add-in or plugin) that has to be installed retroactively. If this option is activated, your browser signals to our web server that you do not wish any tracking to be performed without your explicit consent. Then all tracking functions will be automatically activated by us on the server side. This also means that our websites will be delivered without code for Google Analytics. This assures the best possible data protection, and you do not have to take any further measures with regard to our website.

Depending on which Internet browser you are using, the process for activating the “Do Not Track” option varies. Follow the links below to find out how to do it:

If you access the subpages of our website that have a YouTube plugin, a connection will be established to the YouTube servers and the plugin will be displayed. By doing so, information about which of our subpages you have visited will be transmitted to the YouTube server. If, while doing so, you are logged in to YouTube as a member, YouTube will associate this information with your personal user account. If you use the plugin, e.g. by clicking on the start button of a video, this information will also be associated with your user account. Further information on data processing and information on data protection by YouTube (Google) can be found at www.google.de/intl/en/policies/privacy/.

If the Do Not Track feature is activated in your browser, no external YouTube content will be loaded without your consent; instead, only an indication of this option (play button) will be displayed.

Vimeo

For the integration of videos, we use the provider Vimeo. Vimeo is operated by Vimeo, LLC, headquartered at 555 West 18th Street, New York, New York 10011.

On some of our websites, we use plugins of the provider Vimeo. If you access the pages of our website that have such a plugin, a connection will be established to the Vimeo servers and the plugin will be displayed. This transmits information to the Vimeo server about which of our web pages you have visited. If, while doing so, you are logged in to Vimeo as a member, Vimeo will associate this information with your personal user account. If you use the plugin, e.g. by clicking on the start button of a video, this information will also be associated with your user account. You can prevent this association by logging off from your Vimeo user account prior to using our website and deleting the respective cookies from Vimeo. Further information on data processing and information on data protection by Vimeo can be found at https://vimeo.com/privacy.

If the Do Not Track feature is activated in your browser, no external Vimeo content will be loaded without your consent; instead, only an indication of this option (play button) will be displayed.

Social Media and News Feeds

Use of social plugins of Twitter using the Shariff solution

Social plugins (hereafter called “plugins”) of social networks are used on our website.

In order to increase the protection of your data when you visit our website, these plugins are not integrated into the site unreservedly, but rather only via an HTML link (so-called “Shariff solution” by c‘t). This integration guarantees that when you access a page of our website that contains such plugins, no connection is established yet to the servers of the provider of the respective social network. If you click on one of the buttons, a new window will open in your browser and will access the site of the respective service provider where you can (possibly after entering your login data) press, e.g., the Like or Share button.

For more information about the purpose and extent of the data elicitation and the further processing and use of the data by the providers on their sites, as well as about your rights in this regard and setting options to protect your privacy, please check the data protection information of the providers: https://twitter.com/en/privacy.

Newsletter

Information on our newsletter and on the double-opt-in process

We use the so-called double-opt-in process for mailing newsletters. After you have ordered a newsletter, you will receive an email from us. Once you activate the link it contains, your subscription to the newsletter will start.

Please be advised that your personal data will be stored, analysed and used to improve our service offers. You may unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time. To do so, use the Unsubscribe link in the newsletter.

Your Rights as an Affected Person

Your rights to revoke and object

Regardless of the above, you may (pursuant to Art. 7 Para. 3 and Art. 21 GDPR) object to the use of your data at any time: you may also, at any time, revoke any additional consent you may have given to the use of your data.

If you revoke your consent to data processing and/or to the use of your data, the legality of the data processing until the time of revocation is not affected.

Your right to rectification, erasure, blocking, and restriction

In addition, you may have us rectify, block or erase at any time the data we have collected and stored (Art. 16, Art. 17 and Art. 18 GDPR). We expressly point out that there may be legal requirements to continue storing your data; in such cases, the data can only be blocked.

Your right to data portability and your right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority

Since May 25th, 2018, you also have the right to data portability pursuant to Art. 20 GDPR as well as the right to lodge a complaint with the responsible supervisory authority within the meaning of Art. 77 GDPR.

Point of contact for exercising your rights as an affected person

Pursuant to Art. 15 GDPR, you have the right to learn which data concerning you is stored by us (right of access).